AIBU just to chuck it all in the bin?

[fedupwithit8]

I have two kids under three, have been living in a pigsty for years and am desperate to declutter and live in a more orderly house. I finally got round to sorting out the babies stuff and have a huge pile of things we don’t need anymore - including clothes they’ve grown out of, toys they no longer use, random bits and pieces like car seat inserts, pram seat connectors and more.

I’m desperate to have a clearer, tidier house as we’re wallowing in crap we don’t use. But I simply don’t have time to sort it all out properly and take it to the appropriate places like the charity shop, the dump etc. I’ve been meaning to for months and it’s never happened because we’re just so busy.

AIBU to just shove it all in 5-6 bin bags and get rid? Or should I really try to sort it all properly and dispose of it in better ways so other could potentially make use of it?

A couple of years ago I would have said YANBU and be all all sanctimonious about saving the environment. But post-Covid, with the situation we’re currently in and a preschooler at home myself…

YABU. We only have one DC and are in a similar boat - haven’t over-purchased really, but have been given lots of stuff by family (too much, but she’s the only grandchild and will inevitably be spoilt) and the fact we’re only having one adds to the guilt, as most of it is still nice and usable and some of the clothes barely worn. Have very little time or energy to de-clutter, let alone find new homes for everything. No way do I have the time or inclination to itemise everything to sell on via FB/eBay etc and many of the charity shops locally have either closed down or aren’t accepting new donations as they’re swamped. We have no family with young kids to pass them on to, and friends are doing their own thing.

I think I’ve found a way I can donate some of the clothes and toys to Afghan refugees so will probably do that, but am very tempted to just chuck all the random stuff.

@mydogisthebest our tip is a recycling centre, so the stuff only goes to landfill if it can’t be recycled. Are they not all like that? You just sort into material type and chuck in the appropriate skip.

@IdblowJonSnow

Take what u can to charity. I quite often drop in random bags containing all sorts. They sort it. Bin anything that cant go in recycling or stick it on your drive with a note saying free to a good home.

It is not our role as charity shop to go through the shit you cannot be arsed to sort yourself.

We have to pay for subsequent disposal of your crap.

Put it on sheet/table at end of your drive on a dry day. Put sign saying 'free, please help yourselves'. Put post on local facebook sites, especially a local 'help out' site.
Leave for a couple of days (bring in at night).
Bin what is left after a couple of days. There may be nothing because car booters will turn up in a car and load it all in and drive off.
Job done.

I’ve been living in a pigsty for years because I’ve always felt guilty about chucking stuff out. I’m trying to hold down a full time job with two kids and don’t want to spend what little free time I do have sorting and dealing with loads and loads of stuff

You don't want to spend your free time sorting and dealing with the stuff? Yes, I can absolutely understand that because I can imagine your free time is in short supply.
However, I know you don't want to spend time sorting it but you don't want to live in a pigsty either....
Yes, you could just bin all of it but could you not at least sort to the extent of children's clothes, children's toys and other stuff.
Please find some time to donate the children's clothes somewhere - there are so many people in desperate need. Ditto for the toys. Everything else can be tipped.
Do you have a partner? What is he doing to help sort this stuff?
Pick a day and mark it on the calendar - that's the day when you (both) sort it and one of you takes it to be donated and the junk to the tip.

Oh and the clothes donation bags we used to fill regularly pre-Covid have now all completely vanished around here - no sign of any for the past 18 months or so. The local recycling centre insists on half hour slots booked weeks if not months in advance. It definitely seems to have become more difficult lately to dispose of unwanted items in an ethical way. Lots of friends are struggling to find places too.

I'd have little space in our wheely bin for stuff from a clear out so I'd need to do a tip run anyway.
It's as easy to put clothes into a fabric recycle bin at the supermarket or tip as it is to put it in a skip.
Bin broken toys but charity shop stuff which could be used by someone else. Fill the car and go just know in your head what's going where.

Some charity shops will collect from your home. They might not take carseats but pretty much everything else so long as it's in good condition is good to go. Try the British Heart Foundation if you have one in your town.

You've done the hard part. Please consider spending 5 mins sorting at least some of it. If you didn't care you would have already dumped everything in the bin.

Don't overthink it. Go for small wins - a bag to charity, a bag of recycling, a few items left outside your house for free? Rest can then go guilt free to the tip.

Saleable stuff to charity shop. That takes an hour to bag and take. This week.

Anything else to the dump to be recycled (plastic, rags) or binned.
Next week.

Don’t bother trying to sell on Facebook etc.

Just put it outside your house with a label on it. YABU to bin useful stuff when the climate is breaking.

Don't give anything to a charity shop that you wouldn't happily buy yourself.
Don't use Freecycle for stuff you really need to get out of your house - it generally works great, but there are timewasters on there who enquire about everything with no intention of collecting, you get to spot them after a while. The last item I gave away had 2 no-shows before it was taken.
Always worth asking: if there was a male equivalent of MN, would posters be agonising about this stuff? Not so much, I don't think. Men can generally get on with stuff, safe in the knowledge that women will deal with sorting out all the crap. If not, they'll just bin it or forget about it until another day.

With 2 under 3, you have more than enough to do - just bin the stuff and move on!

I put things I don't need anymore in my front garden with a sign saying "Free, please take if you can use" and the things always go. Most recently a four slot toaster with one side broken (so technically a 2 slot toaster) and a dark oak 1940s dresser that was in need of restoration. Both went in less than half a day.

One man's rubbish is another man's treasure!

I would say just bag it all up, @fedupwithit8 - but maybe whilst you are bagging it up, if you come across anything that could go to the charity shop, put it to one side. That way you will get the tidy home you want, and the charity shop may get some bits too.

You've done the difficult part - deciding what you want to get rid of - and you don't want this stuff lying round the house for ages, whilst you try to find time to sort it all out, so this would be a reasonable compromise.

But the bottom line is - if you don't have the time to do any sorting, just take it all to the dump, and then enjoy your home.

Do you have a friend/partner/mum who could help/encourage you - maybe blitz in an hour and reward yourself with wine and a takeaway, enjoying your tidy space?

I would…

Fish out anything in good condition with sale value (if you value the money more than the time and can be bothered)
Otherwise bag up anything fabric/shoes (excluding duvets and towels) and Chuck in the fabric recycling bank at supermarket.

Solid things - Tools/garden stuff/plastic toys I would stick out the front of your house free to good home or on local FB page - a job lot in a box will go.

Animal charities will often take old towels/blankets - drop off at the vets.

Bin the rest - (I didn’t realise if you use a hippo bag or similar through a legit skip company, they will sort and recycle things like electricals, metals etc, it is worth checking though)

Otherwise you could do it little by little. I love it when a charity shop bag comes through the door that will accept bric a brac and books as well as clothes.

I'd bin it.Getting rid of clutter has an instant positive impact on your well being and mental health.
I try to take as much stuff as possible to the charity shops, but I often end up driving around for months with bags full of stuff that I have intended to take to the charity shop. Whenever I try to drop the bags off the charity shops are either closed, there is no parking nearby or they have a sign on the door saying "not taking donations at the moment". After months of this I just binned them. Instant relief d to have my car boot back and the stuff out of my life.

I'd just bag up all clothes and take to the those charity clothing bins

bag it and bin it - dont waste energy trying to sort it

Please don't throw it out. That would be so wasteful. Advertise it for free on Gumtree.

Eat the elephant bit by bit

Sort it out properly 10 - 15 mins a day.

I usually donate to charity unwanted stuff, but there are often bags of clothes that are too worn and broken things that no one will want. I think that is your case and you need to simply bin the items.

@TheSquashyHatOfMrGnosspelius

It would be amazing if council tips had an area where you could leave good stuff for others to take. If it's still there after a month it could go in the skip sort of thing.

If the government were serious about saving the planet, there needs to be a huge barn at all recycling areas for people to browse and help themselves.

Where I live our local tips all do this. There is a book area. One for toys & games. Then general household & lastly one for furniture. It's amazing what you caa as n pick up some days, we call it "Harrods" 😁

Broken things go in the bin.

Clothes regardless of how worn have value as rags, hence so many bins around supermarkets and tips looking for clothing, sheets and blankets.

We have got very used to putting our convenience first, but we, as a society, as a planet, can no longer afford to be so wasteful. Can you think of chucking it in the bin as simply not an option?

There are some good ideas above - decorating table/picnic rugs/empty paddling pool in front garden with the stuff on/in (you will only need to give it the most cursory of sortings), sign 'free - please take'. Or announce on local group you will be doing this on a particular day. That should reduce it enough for the rest to be reasonably sortable or clearly beyond salvage.

I had 4 kids under 5 and I can remember the feeling of utter hopelessness of trying to maintain some kind of order.

When I eventually got round to decluttering, I put the whole lot on Freecycle as a job lot of assorted clothes, toys, household bits and pieces, and my inbox was overflowing with people who wanted it.

If you live on a street where you get a lot of foot traffic, then sticking it outside with a sign saying FREE works wonders too.